All a Matter of Time
by digisammiegirl
Summary: While hiding from Donald, Sora and Leon have a discussion concerning the keyblade master. Time has never been so confusing, nor so uncertain. One-shot.


AN: This fic was born out of frustration. This is a one-shot based off of another one-shot that I read a while ago which I am kicking myself over for not adding it to my favorite list. **If anyone knows where I can find this fic or at least direct the author to me or vise versa, I would be more than willing to take this fic down. **As it is, my take on it will be very different, but the same main points are here.

As it stands, I give ample credit to the original author, whoever he or she may be.

oOoOo

All a Matter of Time

oOoOo

A shadow blurred around the bend of a cobbled alley, darting into the long shadows produced by the golden, setting sun of Radiant Garden. The shadow darted into the alcove in front of a door, pausing briefly. It was during this pause that a humanoid figure could be seen, its head swinging back and forth while a hand searched wildly behind it before settling upon the doorknob. Strangling the knob, the figure whirled, opened the door, and dashed inside, closing the door swiftly but quietly behind it. After assuring itself that the door was indeed shut and locked, it put its ear to the door, listening for sounds from the outside.

"Sora! Get out here, Sora!" a scratchy voice yelled behind the door. The figure cringed.

"Gosh, Donald. Do you think Sora could be hiding in one of the rooms here?" The figure cringed again, a small, cold sweat starting to form on its forehead as it looked through the keyhole of the door, spying the duck and dog on the other side.

"Of course not, Goofy. The way he smells, no one would let him in for long. Now come on. I bet he's hiding in the castle," the duck insisted as he continued on.

"Alright, then. If you're sure," the dog drawled as he looked at the various doors in the area. The figure could have sworn that that its eyes had connected with the knight's.

As the duo continued on out of sight, the figure backed up from the door, body tensed to run. After a few minutes of no one coming through the door, the figure relaxed, giving a sigh of relief. The moment of relief was short lived as a figure chuckled from behind, unnoticed by the figure upon entry.

"Hiding from an angry duck, are we Sora?"

The figure, Sora, whirled, setting his eyes upon the amused person behind him who he had intruded upon. "Oh. Hi Leon," Sora greeted, face morphing into a beaming smile so as to hide his nervousness. "Fancy seeing you here."

Leon gave a small snort of amusement. "I'm assuming you are hiding from Donald, though I'm curious as to why."

Sora nodded, conceding the fact that he owed the man an explanation of him dropping in so suddenly. "We just go back from a run in with Monstro. Haven't seen the beast in a while, but he didn't seem to be very happy to see us."

"Ah. So that's the reason for the gunk in your hair," Leon mused aloud to himself as he stood from his chair, setting the book he was reading on the side table before leisurely strolling over to the boy and running his fingers through a drooping lock of gooey hair. Indeed, the keyblade master's hair was covered in a stringy substance along with a vast majority of skin that could be seen. The gunk seemed to mysteriously disappear as it touched the teen's clothes. "Those fairies really did a job on those clothes of yours," Leon commented as he pulled his hand away, a string of goo connecting his hand to Sora's hair. "And why are you running from Donald like a child running from a bath?" he teased with a small smile as he retrieved a handkerchief from a pocket to wipe his hand.

Sora winced sheepishly at the jibe, feeling like a kid who had done something and had gotten caught red-handed. "Donald is very good with his spells," he started. "Well, of course he is, he's the King's royal mage, right? Well, while his battle spells are top notch, his…other spells are not quite as…agreeable with humans." A raise of an eyebrow persuaded Sora to elaborate. "There have been occasion where Donald's cleaning spells have come in handy, but I'd rather not have a run in with them at the moment," he explained evasively.

Leon smirked. Sora pouted.

"My skin didn't return to normal for a week," Sora finally conceded, wincing at the memory.

Leon smirked again in amusement. "My. That does sound dreadful." The teen's resulting flush was enough to sate him. "You're free to use my shower," he offered with a wave of a hand to an adjacent door.

The soiled keyblade master paused, blinking up at the older warrior in surprise. "Thank you," he breathed in relief before scurrying through the door. The sound of running water soon followed.

Leon chuckled in good humor, shaking his head as he made his way to the kitchen. After putting a kettle with water on the stove to warm up for tea, he returned to his chair, continuing his book where he left off, waiting patiently for the younger one to enjoy his shower.

A while later, a clean keyblade master emerged from the bathroom only dressed from the waist down sans socks and shoes, steam billowing out from behind him. "Ahh. That feels better," he sighed in content as he rubbed his hair dry with a fluffy, white towel, his crown necklace gleaming in the evening light from a window.

Leon looked up from his book, a soft smile upon his lips in response to the pleasure the teen took from a simple shower. "I suppose you don't run into a lot of indoor plumbing on other worlds, do you?" his question more of a statement.

A wry chuckle was his answer. "You have no idea. I'm lucky if there's a small pond to wash my face in. At least my clothes stay clean thanks to those fairies," Sora mused as he continued to rub himself dry.

Leon's smile remained as he took the time to observe the boy in his moment of being unguarded. He had known the keyblade master from the beginning of the young warrior's journey. That was a few years ago. Looking upon the boy, pale, silver lines criss crossed his chest and back. Looking closer, he could see slim muscles, filling out the slight frame. He was taller now; probably able to come up to Leon's shoulder. How old was he now? Sixteen, seventeen? His eyes narrowed, for some reason determined to figure it out. "How long has it been since we first met?"

"Hm?" the teen hummed quizzically, pausing to look at his companion. "What do you mean?"

Deciding to restate his question, Leon answered, "How long have you been going from world to world, tracking down heartless and nobodies? How long have you been teamed up with Donald and Goofy?"

Sora blinked, taken back at the seemingly random question. "I haven't kept track. A year or two maybe."

"Or more," Leon murmured.

"Or more?"

Leon started, seeming to not realize that he had said anything out loud. Wanting to answer the young warrior's question, he scrutinized the teen in front of him, eyes narrowed, fingers tapping the armrest, his book forgotten in his lap.

Seconds passed as the gunblade master gathered his thoughts. Thinking that the elder would not divulge his meaning, Sora shrugged and continued to dry his hair.

A few minutes later, Sora stoped at the sound of Leon's voice. "Are you sure you've never kept track of time from world to world?"

Sora, startled by the question, expecting an explanation instead, paused before answering, "Quite sure. When we're not on a world, we're in gummi space. There's no night or day in gummi space. As for a sleep schedule, we sleep in shifts when we can. Someone has to keep an eye out for heartless ships."

The elder warrior took another pause to take in his answer before explaining. "Each world is different. People, places, food, language, and just about anything one can think of right?" Sora nodded. "Is it so far fetched to think that time is different from world to world?"

"Time? What made you think that?"

Leon smile. "You've changed, Sora. You find a simple pleasure in a shower, a sign of your travels. You've grown, a sign of time passed. It makes me wonder just how much time has passed. In theory, each person ages in accordance to their own world. You look to have grown but a few years. If time does flow differently from world to world, not even including time spent in gummi space, who knows just how long you have actually been fighting. By my watch, it has been about three years. Your body gives the signs of about two years. Given the theory that each world answers to a different time, then it's plausible that you yourself have aged far beyond your body. Who knows just how old you truly are when you add up each stretch of time from each world. Another question comes into play when you try to add in time within gummi space. Is there even a concept of time in gummi space? And if there is, how long is it? It could mean that even more time may have gone by without you knowing. With the boundaries and laws guarding such things, no one may ever really know. Besides, the time space continuum is a tricky thing." Finished, the swordsman regarded the seeming teen before him who had paused in contemplative silence at the elder's words.

Sora's mind was in a whirl. What Leon had said had made sense. The keyblade master had not been truthful to his companion. He had been keeping track of the days using a mental system taught back on his island, counting how long it took to be reunited with his friends, how long it took to return home. If Leon's observations were correct, only a rough two years had passed on Destiny Island where as several years had passed for himself. An adult trapped in a teenager's body; a prospect Sora had been avoiding when he had first noticed it himself. The fact that someone else had noticed sent shivers down his spine.

A careful eye watched the keyblade master. Sora's eyes had changed; a sign that there was some truth to his musing. Leon had a hunch as to what was going through Sora's mind. It was a tactic many before him had used to remain sane. Perhaps he had done wrong to bring the subject up. Leon was jolted from his thoughts as Sora straightened from his place in the doorway of the bathroom and reentered. A few seconds later, he returned while in the process of pulling his shirt on. Deciding to change subjects, Leon offered as he looked at the night sky, the sun having set, "I have a spare room you're more than welcome to."

Poking his head through and situating his arms, Sora gave a small grunt. "Thanks. I'll take you up on that offer. I don't like the idea of facing Donald at the moment." Leon hummed and stood to leave for the kitchen; the kettle was finally boiling. Sora followed and settled himself in a chair at the table, his eyes following as he watched the swordsman act domesticated, shuffling around the small kitchen area gathering cups, spoons, and other various items. Would this be him one day?

"Do you like chamomile or green tea?"

"Chamomile, if you will. I find it helps ease me to sleep." Leon nodded and slipped a small packet of chamomile tealeaves into both of the cups. Setting the cups on the table, one in front of Sora, the other at an empty spot at the table, he retrieved the kettle from the stove, filling the cups before setting it on a cozy on the table. Both started to prepare their tea for themselves. As Sora reached for the milk, Leon started dipping his teabag in and out of the steaming water, allowing the leaves to brew. Twirling a spoon through the cup, Sora allowed a trickle of milk to flow into his tea, a swirl crafted from the turning liquid. Leon reached a hand out, silently asking for the milk which was placed in his hand. As he added the milk to his own tea, Sora reached for the honey, squeezing the bottle into his own caramel colored tea. Giving it a quick stir, Sora grasped his cup with both hands, savoring the warmth seeping into his hands. "Thank you," he murmured as he breathed in the sweet smelling steam, watching the other place a sugar cube into his own cup, stirring it a few times before bringing the cup to his own lips.

Leon took a sip before looking into Sora's eyes. "You're welcome," he replied before taking another sip of his tea. Both warriors continued to savor their tea, nibbling on the small biscuits situated in the middle of the table.

After what seemed only a few moments, Leon looked towards a clock hanging on the wall. More time had passed than he had thought. Slowly, he gathered the various items not in use, turning to the sink to put the dishes in to wash before shuffling about to put the other items back in their place. Sora watched before gathering his own cup and heading for the sink, determined to wash the dishes before the other could protest. Deciding himself too tired from the day, Leon allowed the other to do as he pleased, content to sit again at the table and nibble on another biscuit.

Once Sora had finished, drying his hands on a towel, Leon nodded and headed towards the bedrooms, Sora following. He stopped in front of a door on the right before turning around. "This will be your room then," he explained before opening it to allow the teen entry. "You may use it as you see fit."

Sora smiled tiredly at the elder swordsman. "Thanks, Leon. That means a lot." Leon nodded before turning towards his own room. Before the gunblade master could fully enter his room, Sora suddenly exclaimed, "Leon?" He paused to allow his companion his piece. "If what you said was true, what will happen to me if I return to the island?"

"If?" Leon asked in slight bewilderment. Sora flushed slightly.

"There's always the chance that I'll never see my home again. On the off chance that I ever do, what do you think will happen to me? I mean, only so many years have truly passed on the islands, yet while my body has remained in sync with the islands, more years have passed through my mind. What would happen to me then? Would I be able to pick up where I left off?"

"No," Leon answered without hesitation as he turned back towards the keyblade master. "What you are experiencing now is not something a person can easily brush aside. You have changed, Sora. And you will continue to change. And that change will remain with you for the rest of your life, however long that may be. I don't know what may become of you if you were to return to your island now or even five years from now. It's only a matter of time." Sora looked away, not able to continue looking at the elder in the eyes, his mind far too conflicted to remain focused. "Get some sleep, Sora," Leon coaxed, shaking Sora from his musings.

Sora nodded. "Good night, Leon," he said as he continued into his room.

"Good night, Sora," Leon replied as he too entered his room, closing the door behind him softly.

Sora closed the door behind him. Thoughts whirled around in his head as he started for the bed, not bothering to change into any nightwear that was surely in the drawers of the dresser off to the side. What would be the point if the heartless or nobodies attacked while he slept? It wouldn't be the first time he had slept in his clothes. Situating his self under the blankets, Sora allowed his mind to wonder before trying to meditate; something Mulan had tried to teach after sealing her world's keyhole. As he drifted off into sleep, a combination of the chamomile tea and meditation, a few words escaped him: "All a matter of time."


End file.
